Who’s Who

Profile:
Commercial Country Manager, VGP Romania
VGP Net Asset Value:
€ 1.35 billion
Experience:
13 years on the Romanian real estate market

As of April 2021, Dana Bordei was appointed Commercial Country Manager for VGP Romania – part of VGP Group, a European provider of logistics and semi-industrial real estate. She will be responsible for the further development of VGP´s portfolio of logistics – and semi-industrial facilities on the Romanian market.

Prior to joining VGP, Dana worked at WDP Romania as Commercial Director for two years and previously she was Head of Industrial Advisory at CBRE for 12 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the Faculty of Finance and Banking at Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

“I’m very excited to be joining VGP to help support the expansion of the company. There is a lot of growth potential on the Romanian market and I am happy to support VGP on its positive growth path. The industry will enter the 5.0 era in the coming years and VGP is prepared to offer new ways of working for the road ahead.“

The appointment comes soon after VGP announced the acquisition of a new land plot in a prime location near Bucharest and the start of the development of its new multi-tenant business park VGP Park Bucharest. VGP Park Bucharest is being developed on a land plot of approx. 250.000 sqm and will have a total potential lettable area of about 120.000 sqm divided over 4 buildings. Construction of the first building with a surface of 28,000 sqm is planned to be kicked off in June 2021, while the delivery is expected for December 2021.

VGP Group has been present in Romania through its subsidiary VGP Romania since 2007 and currently has logistics parks in Timisoara and Sibiu, as well as a park under construction in Brasov and soon, in Arad.

The group has 77 parks at the European level in 12 European countries and is in the process of expanding in all markets where it is present.

Profile:
Managing Director, Element Industrial
Experience:
Over 14 years in the real estate market

Andrei Jerca has been appointed as Managing Director of Element Industrial as of March 2021. A professional with 14 years of experience in the real estate industry, Andrei has worked for companies such as Europolis, CA IMMO, P3 or CBRE, being involved throughout his career both in the management of a portfolio of 300.000 sqm of logistics space and in the development of a series of logistics and industrial projects amounting 200.000 sqm.

Element Industrial is developing a logistics hub in the Buftea-Chitila area, where it delivered a 50.000 sqm park and recently started a 37 million EUR investment in a new 72.000 sqm park. At the same time, the company purchased a series of lands in several areas in the country, where it intends to develop class A logistics parks, such as Braila, Craiova, Pitesti, Bacau, Iasi, Timisoara or Ploiesti.

All projects under the “Eli Parks” brand are developed to international class A standards, with the main objective of fully covering the needs of potential tenants, regardless of the field in which they operate. In this context, the concepts used in the development of parks allow flexibility in accommodating a wide range of needs, both technical and operational.

Profile:
CEO of CTP Invest
Portfolio value of CTP:
€ 5.9 bn.
Experience:
22 years since he founded CTP and started
developing A-Class business parks in the
Czech Republic

Remon Vos established CTP together with two other investors in 1998, to develop A-class full-service business parks for investors doing business in central Europe.

Since then, CTPark Network became the largest integrated system of full-service business parks in Central and Eastern Europe. Remon Vos has always been personally involved at both the executive and operational levels in all CEE markets.

From July 2019, Remon took over 100% control of the CTP Group and continues to lead the company at full speed growing the portfolio and strengthening relationships with long-term business partners.

22 years later, CTP employs over 400 people today and is a top 5 European logistics property company and the largest logistics property owner-developer in CEE with leading and growing market shares in four countries: Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

CTP now owns and operates a modern network of 70 premium multi-use business parks (“CTParks”) with over 450 buildings. 85% of CTP’s portfolio is located near capital/major cities, as CTP anticipated the growing demand for last-mile delivery and the continued growth of e-commerce.

The parks are developed in close collaboration with its over 700 high-quality international and domestic tenants, including DB Schenker, DHL, ABB, Primark, Lenovo, Honeywell, Bridgestone, Thermo Fisher and DSV.

CTP developed more than 1 million square meters of industrial warehouses in Romania. Has announced a new plan of 200 mil. euros worth of new investments. Bought the Mobexpert warehouses.

Profile:
Managing Director, P3 Romania
P3 Romania total GLA:
6.5 mil. sqm
Experience:
More than 15 years in real estate and trade advisory

Sinziana Pardhan has been Managing Director of P3 Romania, owned by GIC – GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, since August 2017. She coordinates the operations of the company in Romania, a market considered by P3 as having great potential due to sustained economic development of the country and strong growth potential of the logistics and industrial segments. Pardhan leads a team of 11 people and oversees the activity of the most complex logistics park in Bucharest, P3 Bucharest A1, with the goal of constantly enhancing the value of the company’s assets and the services provided to its tenants.

With a rich experience in investments, acquisitions and sales, Sinziana Pardhan worked for 9 years for the real estate consultancy company Colliers. Prior to joining Colliers, she collaborated with SOPOLEC and the Romanian Green Building Council in Romania and carried out consulting projects with the US Department of Commerce (Central and Eastern European Business Information Center), the Council for Economic Competitiveness of the Dominican Republic and The Global Knowledge Partnership (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

The past couple of years brought good results for P3 in Romania, both in terms of leasing activity and consolidation of the existing asset. The developer leased out a total surface of 325.000 sqm between Jan 2019 – Dec 2020, with approximately 220.000 sqm leased in 2020 alone. Mid 2019, the company started construction works to its multifunctional project comprising of a 212-beds hostel and a restaurant, while in the second half of 2020 it officially inaugurated the 400 sqm self-service restaurant and signed a collaboration agreement with the Regional Branch of Railway Transport for Passengers Bucharest (CFR Calatori), thus securing trains stops and ensuring access to the park via train.

“In 2021 we will continue to concentrate our efforts to strengthening P3 Bucharest A1 park’s positioning on the local market, with a strong focus on sustainability.
In this context, we are implementing a series of projects and processes towards achieving our ambitious sustainability goals: we are currently in the process of obtaining the BREEAM in-use certifications for all the 14-logistics buildings within the park and we have just inaugurated the first 2 charging stations for electric vehicles in the park.”

Locally, P3 owns and manages P3 Bucharest A1 logistic park, with over 380.000 sqm of storage space, freight and passenger rail terminals and its own self-service restaurant within the park perimeter.

Profile:
Country Manager
Portfolio value of WDP:
+800 mil. €
Experience:
14 years as manager of WDP Romania

Jeroen Biermans is the Country Manager of WDP Romania, part of the Belgian-based WDP Group. WDP offers intelligent warehousing solutions, with a focus on the development and letting of semi-industrial and logistical real estate.

WDP has a solid presence in Romania, where it became the 2nd largest developer and owner of logistic warehouses that crossed the 1.3 mil. sqm milestone.

Prior to WDP, he held positions at Den Braven Sealants, as a lawyer at the Antwerp Bar and at other companies. Jeroen Biermans is a Law graduate from the Namur University and Leuven University, Belgium. He also studied Law at the Hamburg University, Germany. He holds an LL.M. degree in Maritime Law from the Southampton University, United Kingdom.

WDP is the largest operator on the Benelux semi-industrial property market and focuses on the construction of logistics spaces, with a property portfolio totaling 6 million sqm in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Romania

• Stefanestii de Jos project for Decathlon, a 5 mil. EUR investment.
• New developments for LPP, Eobuwie, Fedex, Profi.
• In 2020, WDP developed investments of +134 mil. EUR for 223.600 sqm of logistic warehouses.
• WDP contracted in 2020 a 205 mil. EUR loan from the IFC to develop 1 mil. sqm. in Romania.

Profile:
Founders of Dedeman/ Paval Holding
Real Estate investments:
€ 300 M
Experience:
Almost 30 years of entrepreneurship

Brothers Dragos and Adrian Paval are the founders of Romanian retailer Dedeman, the DIY market leader and the biggest company owned by private Romanian investors. Established in 1992, Dedeman accounts for more than half of the local DIY market. It holds a network of 5 logistics centers across Romania that support 55 large-scale stores, which makes it one of the largest networks of this kind in the region. Dedeman is nearing the €2 billion turnover milestone, making it one of the biggest local entrepreneurial companies.

Paval Holding, which has a social capital of EUR 1 billion and represents the largest direct ownership by Romanian entrepreneurs (60% by Dragos Paval and 40% by his brother, Adrian) is the financial investment vehicle of brothers Paval and it reported a net profit of EUR 690 mil. in 2020, according to Confidas.ro data.

 In recent years, Paval brothers have diversified their investments into real estate, manufacturing and energy and stakes in Romanian blue-chip companies, such as Transelectrica, Conpet, Alro Slatina, Electrica or Antibiotice Iasi. The brothers also recently launched a Equiliant Capital, a private equity fund financing small and medium-sized companies.

Real Estate

Paval brothers own two office projects in Bucharest (The Bridge office complex, bought from Forte Partners for EUR 200 mil.) and Cluj-Napoca (The Office building bought from NEPI Rockcastle and Ovidiu Sandor, transaction valued at +100 mil. EUR) and are investors in Element Industrial, a dynamic Romanian developer of industrial and logistics projects.

 They are also investing in a mixed-use project in Bacau, the city which hosts Dedeman’s HQ, and are also developing a new HQ for Paval Holding in Bucharest. In Ilfov county, near Bucharest, the brothers own 64 hectares of land suitable for industrial development.

Profile:
CEO, Akcent Development Group
Akcent Development Group T/O (2020):
€48 M
Current investments:
Over € 65 M (Navigatiei Residential Project)
Experience:
More than 12 years, in retail and legal sectors

Laurentiu Afrasine is the CEO of Akcent Development since February 2020, with a career in real estate which started within the retail industry and with over 10 years of experience in the legal sector. Laurentiu oversees all aspects of the company’s operations and team members, along with the financial and legal management.

Laurentiu has successfully engaged in the financial management of the Akcent Development group, while reimbursing the funding; he also accelerated the process of completing the Cloud 9 residential project and has established an experienced sales team, guiding the clients in the process of finding premium apartments and penthouses according to their particular needs and requirements.

The Akcent Development Group is one of the largest residential developers in Bucharest, with 20 years of experience in the Bucharest real estate market and approximately 7.500 apartments in its portfolio, including the 820 premium residential units of the Cloud 9 project. The group’s portfolio also includes 4 office projects: Eminescu Offices, Mendeleev Office 5, Maria Rosetti Tower and Oscar One. The total value of the most recent office buildings in the developer`s portfolio (Eminescu Offices and Mendeleev Office 5) is over 30 M EUR.

Along 2020, the strategy of Akcent Development focused on adapting the business and the best use of resources according to the context generated by the pandemic, using all the knowledge for the future development of two new residential projects in Bucharest.

Up to the present, Mendeleev Office 5 office building has reached an occupancy rate of 70% and Cloud 9 residential project has sold 67% of its apartments (550 units out of a total of 820). So far, all the 2-room apartments have been sold, as the developer aims to have sold 90% of the total number of units by the end of 2021.

“In this new context, buyers are more and more interested in the duplex units with private gardens on the ground floor, which provide ideal green spaces for work and relaxation, but also by the clever partitioning of apartments, the bright spaces offered by the large glazed surfaces and the privileged position for those who work in the Northern part of Bucharest.”

Profile:
CEO, Element Group
Value of investments coordinated:
€ 100 mil.
Experience:
20 yeas on the Romanian real estate market

Ionut Bordei was appointed as CEO of Element Group, one of the most dynamic Romanian investment funds, in February 2017. He leads the development activity, supervising the land acquisitions process for all divisions of the group. His career in real estate began in 2000 in local brokerage agency Eurisko, where he evolved from a broker to Residential Department Manager and further on, Partner.

Before joining the Element Group team, he worked for companies such as Cordia Futureal or DTZ Echinox.

Ionut has an Executive MBA degree from Vienna University of Economics and Business.

“One of the Group’s latest acquisitions is a 2.7-hectare land at the entrance to Pitești, in the immediate vicinity of the A1 highway. The positioning in the immediate vicinity of the A1 highway, as well as near an existing retail hub – Jupiter City, Metro and Arabesque Pitești – determined us to add this land to the group’s portfolio, for a future proximity logistic development.”

Some of his key achievements within the group include the development of Bistrita Retail Park (a shopping gallery of 7.600 sqm with tenants such as Carrefour Market, Decathlon, Sportisimo, JYSK, Lems, Happy Cinema, Top Shop, Sinsay, Help Net and Contakt), the takeover of BCC office building from Immofinanz, which was rebranded as One Victoriei Center and the acquisition of the former Kandia factory in Timisoara. Ionut is also in charge of the acquisitions for the logistic development of the group (Element Industrial), some of the most important being a 2,7-hectare land in Pitesti, a 3-hectare land in Targoviste or the warehouses of Bere Bauturi from Constanta rebranded as Eli Xpress Constanta

Profile:
Country Manager, Cordia Romania & Spain; Member of Cordia`s Board of Directors
Portfolio value of Futureal Group, owner of Cordia:
€5.0 billion
Experience:
20 years on the real estate markets in Spain, Bulgaria and Romania
Cordia in numbers:
7.000 apartments completed over the last 19 years, 4.000 apartments under development, pipeline of 11.200 apartments in the coming years

Mauricio Mesa Gomez is Country Manager of Cordia Romania and Spain and a member of Cordia’s Board of Directors.

Born in Spain, Mauricio Mesa Gomez is a law graduate from Navarra University, specialized in real estate. After an activity spanning for 5 years on the Spanish real estate market, his experience in Eastern Europe started back in February 2006, partnering with a group of investors and managing their investments in Bulgaria. There, he has successfully closed joint-venture agreements for two important projects in Bansko. Then, after 8 years as General Manager for Hercesa Romania and Bulgaria, he joined Cordia, part of Futureal Group, in 2016.

Mauricio Mesa Gomez is successfully coordinating the development of Parcului20, the residential project Cordia Romania started developing in 2019 in Expoziției area, North Bucharest. Even in the context generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction works on the project continued without interruption and the first residents moved in the project in March 2021. Construction works on the second phase of the project, comprised of 220 apartments destined to the medium-high segment started in November 2020.

“We are currently focusing on building Parcului20 phase 2, comprised of 220 apartments destined to the medium-high segment of the market, in the context in which the residents in the 1st phase started moving in their new apartments in March 2021. We are currently assessing which land-plots in our portfolio we will develop next, depending on the market conditions and other factors. We intend to launch a new residential project this year, on a land-plot located in North Bucharest. Cordia Romania is currently developing the Parcului20 residential project, located in Expoziției area, North Bucharest.

In 2021, the developer intends to launch another residential project in North Bucharest. Cordia has a land-portfolio in Central-North and North Bucharest that provides a 2.000 apartments pipeline on medium-term.

In Spain, Mauricio Mesa Gomez is coordinating the development of Jade Tower, a residential project comprised of 116 luxury apartments and penthouses located in Fuengirola, at the heart of Costa del Sol.

Anca Simionescu is a senior real estate professional, with a wide expertise in commercial and residential real estate investment, asset management and business development. She was previously part of the managerial teams of companies such as Asmita Group, Skanska Romania, or Sterncor UK. As of September 2020 she was appointed Lion’s Head’s Country Manager for Romania, responsible for the implementation of the Group’s strategy in the country.

Lion’s Head is the owner and manager of income-producing commercial properties in Central and Eastern Europe. The company is backed by AG Capital and Old Mutual Property. AG Capital is one of the most influential groups in real estate investment, development and asset management in Bulgaria. Old Mutual Property is part of Old Mutual, established in 1845 as South Africa’s first life insurance company. Today, Old Mutual has grown into a financial services group that offers a broad spectrum of financial solutions to retail and corporate customers across key market segments in 14 countries, with listings on five stock exchanges.

In Romania, the fund acquired Oregon Park from Portland Trust, a transaction valued at over € 170 mil., the second-largest in the history of the local market. Oregon Park is a premium A graded office complex comprising three 7-storey buildings that provide over 70.000 sqm of contemporary office space surrounded by an attractively landscaped plot of nearly 4 ha. Located in Floreasca-Barbu Vacarescu Business District, the area is one of the most prestigious business hubs in Bucharest, attracting many global companies.

Read more about All People You Should Know on the Romanian Real Estate Market